


Façade

by dragonesdepapel



Series: Smoke and Mirrors [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, that's it that's the fic, they sit and talk about feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-23
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-22 18:16:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6089749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonesdepapel/pseuds/dragonesdepapel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I don’t think she believes me” he finally said." "When I say that I like her."</p>
<p>“Do you believe me when I say that I like you?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Façade

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not quite happy with how this one turned out. But it's been on my drafts for weeks and I decided that I had to let it go. Hopefully it will be just me that has a problem with it?

They sat on her room, homework long forgotten laying on the floor between them. Their study session with Alya and Nino had finished an hour ago and the couple had left. Adrien had found some excuse to stay behind. He was getting better with those. It certainly helped that Marinette was always too happy to have him around.

The blond was sitting on the floor, his back resting against her couch. He was playing games on his phone, grateful for having a moment to relax. It had been an exhausting week, filled with exams and photoshoots and late night patrols. His eyes wandered to the girl sitting at the desk from time to time. She was working on a new design, the sound of her pencil against paper resounding in the room.

They stayed in silence, each of them concentrated on their own stuff. They had grown used to it. Sometimes they worked on their homework, sometimes Adrien brought a book with him. It felt nice, spending time together, even if they didn’t do anything in particular. Just being in the same room gave them a feeling of contentment that they lacked when they were on their own.

After a few minutes of sensing the boy’s unspoken hesitation, Marinette decided to take matters into her own hands.

“So how’s your crush doing?” Marinette asked, not looking up from her sketchbook.

“She’s been great, thank you. What about yours?”

“He’s fine. A bit stressed about the upcoming exams but I’m confident he’ll pull through.”

She heard him chuckle. They had been real, proper friends for a while now but it still amazed her a little that she could get him to laugh.

He didn’t say anything for a while after that but Marinette waited patiently. She knew that something had been bothering Adrien for a few days now and that he had been trying to tell her about it. She had noticed the pensive stares and his tense silences.

She wasn’t sure what it was about. She suspected it had to do with the girl that he was pining for, but it was little more than a hunch. She didn’t want to risk making him uncomfortable so she resorted to waiting for him to gather his courage.

But when days started to pass and it looked like the boy might never actually bring it up Marinette decided to take action. She didn’t want to push and she didn’t want to assume but she did want to give him a chance to open up. After all, his well-being was more important to her than avoiding some potential embarrassment.

“I don’t think she believes me” he finally said, and Marinette felt oddly proud of herself for having figured him out. “When I say that I like her” he clarified.

She closed her sketchbook and turned on her seat to face him.

“Did she tell you this?”

“No, but I can tell. Ok, it took me a while but it’s pretty obvious now" he amended.

“And you do really like her” Marinette said, making it sound like a question. She knew the answer but still wanted to hear the confirmation. It was a delicate matter and she didn’t want to assume anything.

“Of course” he replied earnestly.

“And you want to know what you could do to make her believe you?”

“No. I mean yes, I want to but… I don’t understand how she could not see it. Maybe I did something wrong?” Adrien was looking down at his hands, which had started fidgeting with his phone.

Marinette tried to think of the best way to ask her next question. She didn't want him to think that she was changing the topic or making this about her. But in the end it was not like she had much choice but to be straightforward. 

“Do you believe me when I say that I like you?”

Adrien hesitated.

“You know, I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t think I could handle the answer.” That was probably not a lie. Or maybe it was. She wasn’t really sure. But Adrien didn’t need to know that.

He nodded and then adopted a pondering look. He stayed silent for so long that Marinette started thinking about taking it back. Maybe she had crossed a line. Sometimes it was hard to know with their relationship being so different to everything she was used to.

“I guess that not really. I think that you think you like me. But what you actually like is this image that I present to the world.”

If he had revealed more than he intended, Adrien didn’t show it. Marinette was usually good at reading him but sometimes there was no way around his practiced nonchalance. He had spent a lifetime perfecting it after all. But it was also true that the both of them had reached some sort of unspoken agreement. They were honest with each other, at least with the things that mattered. Marinette had started it that afternoon at the park and he had responded in kind. They were both still as guarded as they were before but if it was the other asking, they knew that the only possible answer was the truth.

In any case, Marinette wanted nothing more than to comfort him right now. How could she not, when he had basically admitted that he thought that everything, from himself to the affection that he received, was a lie? There were so many things that she wanted to say that they all got stuck on her throat.

“I think that makes senses” he said, thoughtful.  

Marinette knew that the moment had passed. He probably didn’t want or need her reassurance, anyway. He had however, asked for her help, so she tried to concentrate on the subject at hand.

“It might not be it, though. I don’t know her so I can’t know for sure. I just wanted you to see that there could be other reasons that don’t involve placing the blame on you.”

She tapped her pencil against her tight, her mind still going over his previous words.

“It’s that what you think about your friend?” he asked, effectively capturing all of her attention again.

Her first instinct was to deny it, to get the focus back to him. But that would have been wrong. Adrien didn’t lie to her, and she didn’t lie to him. That was how things were between them.

Besides, it was not like she would ever get another chance to talk about this. No-one else knew about her relationship with Chat. And she loved Tikki to pieces, but she was usually too preoccupied with reassuring her to care about giving her helpful answers.

“For the most part. It’s just that I… act differently around him. More confident, more driven. And it’s hard to picture him liking the clumsy, stuttering mess that I usually am.”

She could see in Adrien’s expression that he was about to give her some heartfelt and well-meaning speech about how there was no way that she could be a clumsy, stuttering mess. She had to hold back a laugh when she realized that he must have seen that same telltale look on her earlier. She decided to mimic his tactic, continuing before he could speak.

“But he also flirts and jokes a lot so I’m never sure if he means it.” It wasn’t a lie, so she tried not to feel guilty about the diversion.

It took him a second longer than necessary to reply, but it looked like it had worked.

“Maybe he feels nervous around you and he doesn’t know how to handle it.”

Marinette snorted. Because, c’mon! Chat, nervous? Because of her?

“I’m serious!” he insisted. “Look, I…” he hesitated. He sighed with resignation and seemed to steel himself before carrying on. “I flirt with my crush, ok? All the time. Doesn’t mean that I don’t mean it.”

Well that was unexpected. Both because she had never really pictured him like that and because he had decided to share that fact with her. She tried not to imagine what it would be like if Adrien flirted with her. She would probably just melt. What would he be like? All smiles and winks like Chat?

She felt her face growing hotter and panicked a little because she was sure he would know the reason behind her flustered state. Which of course, only made her feel embarrassed and didn’t really help her control her blush. It took Adrien two seconds to catch up on what was going through her mind. She groaned and hid her face in her hands, trying to ignore the smirk on his face.

“You realize you have never actually seen it, right?” he said with a chuckle. “For all you know I could be terrible at flirting.”

“Adrien,” she said in a serious tone, looking straight at him again, “I heard you make a pun the other day and I still found you cute. I highly doubt that you can do worse than that.”

That made him laugh and Marinette was grateful because it gave her some time to recover.

“Does it ever bother you, your friend’s flirting?” he asked next, not even trying to conceal the real reason behind his question.

“No, never. Sometimes I pretend to be exasperated by it because we’re busy with stuff and I need him to focus. Also because he’s such a dork. But he wouldn’t be himself without it, you know? And I know that he would stop if it made me uncomfortable.”

They fell silent after that, mulling over their conversation. There was something that was still bothering her, but it would be even more awkward bringing it up now. The thought didn’t sit well with her though, that it was something that could just be brushed aside.

She was still trying to gather her confidence to bring up the subject when Adrien beat her to it.

“I know I’m repeating myself here but you are an amazing person, Marinette. I’m sure this boy would like you, all of you, if you let him get to know you. He would be a fool not to. We can’t always be confident, and that’s ok. I’m sure he already knows this. He’s probably waiting for a chance to prove you that you don’t need to pretend with him. And I know you are incredibly strong but you need to remember that there’s nothing wrong with relying on others from time to time. Seeking support doesn’t make you weaker. ”

Marinette listened carefully and tried to commit every word to memory so she could think them over at a later time. Right now she had her own little speech to give and she hoped that it was at least half as touching as his had been. It was really hard, being friends with someone so nice. Especially when that someone was her school crush and she had to concentrate on not swooning with every good thing he said about her.

“And I know you think that you need to uphold this perfect image when you are around us but you don’t, Adrien. We are your friends. You don’t have to pretend with us either. You can be loud, or playful or reckless or whatever you want. But you are very mistaken if you think that this” she waved a hand in his general direction “is not you. You are kind and compassionate and loyal and that doesn’t change just because someone decided that there was a certain way you had to act. And Nino and Alya and me and anyone that matters can see that there are a million reasons to care about you. We already love you like this so you might as well let us see how you really are.”

“Even if it involves terrible puns?”

“I think I could handle some of those.”


End file.
